Four Out Of Four: Plymouth 0 United 3
leedsunited.com
A stunning second half performance from Leeds at Home Park gave Kevin Blackwell's men their fourth consecutive win and put the icing on a very Merry Christmas indeed.
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell was able to name an unchanged team following on from Saturday's win over Hull City. It meant Richard Cresswell and Robbie Blake continued their partnership upfront with David Healy and Rob Hulse still on the bench.
The Match
Leeds are never quite at their best under the glare
of the Sky cameras and the game itself didn't quite produce the excitement the TV executives may have hoped for from the opening quarter hour.
That didn't stop the United fans from enjoying themselves in the stand behind Neil Sullivan's goal after a six hour drive from Leeds. They were up waving their shirts over their heads from the start and at least gave the game a decent atmosphere.
Early action points saw Eddie Lewis deliver a corner straight into the keeper's arms, then at the other end Matthew Kilgallon was at full stretch to turn the ball away from Scott Taylor inside the area.
Kilgallon had been excellent in the derby game with Hull two days earlier and the England under-21 international was to be found in good form again.
Leeds first real chance came after ten minutes when Jonathan Douglas, fresh from his double striker against the Tigers, looked to turn provider with a cross behind the Plymouth defence that Robbie Blake came within a whisker of meeting but in the end the keeper collected comfortably.
Neil Sullivan's only real test was to hold onto a low drive from Plymouth's Hungarian midfielder Akos Buzsaky.
Midway through the half Stephen Crainey took a battering at the hands of Mickey Evans when they both went up for a header together, and the Scot required a bit of treatment.
The Whites, some 16 places ahead of The Pilgrims, began to play with the assuredness of a team towards the top of the table but still couldn't trouble Plymouth keeper Larrieu with any real chances.
It looked promising after another Lewis corner eventually saw Derry burst into the box with the ball at his feet but he could only win another corner as a fair tackle went in to take the ball away from him.
Leeds kept pressing on the edge of the Plymouth penalty area and gradually the chances started to come. Liam Miller played a pass quickly to Cresswell and the striker had a clear shot on goal but took too long and the tackle took the chance away.
The first effort on target came from Cresswell's clever back-heel after he met Lewis's cross inside the six-yard box, but the ball was plucked out of the air by Larrieu.
Just before half-time Robbie Blake's shot deflected off Jarrett and only just went wide of the right hand post. Plymouth were starting to live dangerously and Leeds will have been disappointed not to have punished them for it at the break.
Neither side made any changes at half-time and it was Plymouth who had the first real chance of the half. A cross was placed perfectly for Micky Evans but the striker didn't get enough power behind his header and Sullivan will have had fewer easier takes this season.
Miller's low drive into the box created all manner of problems for the Plymouth keeper who couldn't hold onto it and conceded the corner from which Leeds eventually got the opening goal.
It came on 53 minutes as another half-cleared corner fell to Eddie Lewis on the edge of the area who fired the ball back into a crowded penalty box where Cresswell just got a slight touch to turn the ball in.
Right on the hour it was 2-0 as Eddie Lewis produced exactly the sort of cross that Kevin Blackwell brought him to Elland Road for.
The cross was right across the face of goal and behind the defenders for Blake at the back post to hammer home. Larrieu got a hand to the shot but there was nothing he could do to stop Blake from claiming his second goal of the festive season.
It was well deserved for the former Birmingham City man, who had done everything he could but score in the previous game against Hull. Blake had two more good chances almost stright afterwards to really kill off Plymouth's hopes of a comeback.
First Cresswell knocked it back towards him at the back post again and Blake tried to hook it back to goal with the ball slightly behind him, but it looped onto the roof of the net.
Then Good work from Lewis saw the American win the ball back for Leeds down the left and find Blake making the run forward. He came close again as his shot across the face of goal skimmed the far post. Ten minutes before the end and Leeds fashioned another good chance for themselves, again for Blake.
Liam Miller robbed Djordic in midfield and threaded the ball for Blake who cut inside and just didn't put enough power behind his curling drive to trouble the goal.
Wotton could have made the game more interesting had his shot gone from the edge of the area found the target, instead it nearly cleared the stand behind Neil Sullivan, a bystander in the second half.
Liam Miller was hacked down inside the penalty area by Kouo-Doumbe with five minutes remaining and Rob Hulse, who had only just replaced Robbie Blake, was given the task of putting away the spot-kick.
He stepped up and hit an unstoppable drive past Larrieu to score his first goal since October. It was all too comfortable for Leeds in the end and they wrapped up a fantastic festive period with 12 points out of 12, also the first time they had won four consecutive games for nearly five years.
leedsunited.com
A stunning second half performance from Leeds at Home Park gave Kevin Blackwell's men their fourth consecutive win and put the icing on a very Merry Christmas indeed.
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell was able to name an unchanged team following on from Saturday's win over Hull City. It meant Richard Cresswell and Robbie Blake continued their partnership upfront with David Healy and Rob Hulse still on the bench.
The Match
Leeds are never quite at their best under the glare
of the Sky cameras and the game itself didn't quite produce the excitement the TV executives may have hoped for from the opening quarter hour.That didn't stop the United fans from enjoying themselves in the stand behind Neil Sullivan's goal after a six hour drive from Leeds. They were up waving their shirts over their heads from the start and at least gave the game a decent atmosphere.
Early action points saw Eddie Lewis deliver a corner straight into the keeper's arms, then at the other end Matthew Kilgallon was at full stretch to turn the ball away from Scott Taylor inside the area.
Kilgallon had been excellent in the derby game with Hull two days earlier and the England under-21 international was to be found in good form again.
Leeds first real chance came after ten minutes when Jonathan Douglas, fresh from his double striker against the Tigers, looked to turn provider with a cross behind the Plymouth defence that Robbie Blake came within a whisker of meeting but in the end the keeper collected comfortably.
Neil Sullivan's only real test was to hold onto a low drive from Plymouth's Hungarian midfielder Akos Buzsaky.
Midway through the half Stephen Crainey took a battering at the hands of Mickey Evans when they both went up for a header together, and the Scot required a bit of treatment.
The Whites, some 16 places ahead of The Pilgrims, began to play with the assuredness of a team towards the top of the table but still couldn't trouble Plymouth keeper Larrieu with any real chances.
It looked promising after another Lewis corner eventually saw Derry burst into the box with the ball at his feet but he could only win another corner as a fair tackle went in to take the ball away from him.
Leeds kept pressing on the edge of the Plymouth penalty area and gradually the chances started to come. Liam Miller played a pass quickly to Cresswell and the striker had a clear shot on goal but took too long and the tackle took the chance away.
The first effort on target came from Cresswell's clever back-heel after he met Lewis's cross inside the six-yard box, but the ball was plucked out of the air by Larrieu.
Just before half-time Robbie Blake's shot deflected off Jarrett and only just went wide of the right hand post. Plymouth were starting to live dangerously and Leeds will have been disappointed not to have punished them for it at the break.
Neither side made any changes at half-time and it was Plymouth who had the first real chance of the half. A cross was placed perfectly for Micky Evans but the striker didn't get enough power behind his header and Sullivan will have had fewer easier takes this season.
Miller's low drive into the box created all manner of problems for the Plymouth keeper who couldn't hold onto it and conceded the corner from which Leeds eventually got the opening goal.
It came on 53 minutes as another half-cleared corner fell to Eddie Lewis on the edge of the area who fired the ball back into a crowded penalty box where Cresswell just got a slight touch to turn the ball in.
Right on the hour it was 2-0 as Eddie Lewis produced exactly the sort of cross that Kevin Blackwell brought him to Elland Road for.
The cross was right across the face of goal and behind the defenders for Blake at the back post to hammer home. Larrieu got a hand to the shot but there was nothing he could do to stop Blake from claiming his second goal of the festive season.
It was well deserved for the former Birmingham City man, who had done everything he could but score in the previous game against Hull. Blake had two more good chances almost stright afterwards to really kill off Plymouth's hopes of a comeback.
First Cresswell knocked it back towards him at the back post again and Blake tried to hook it back to goal with the ball slightly behind him, but it looped onto the roof of the net.
Then Good work from Lewis saw the American win the ball back for Leeds down the left and find Blake making the run forward. He came close again as his shot across the face of goal skimmed the far post. Ten minutes before the end and Leeds fashioned another good chance for themselves, again for Blake.
Liam Miller robbed Djordic in midfield and threaded the ball for Blake who cut inside and just didn't put enough power behind his curling drive to trouble the goal.
Wotton could have made the game more interesting had his shot gone from the edge of the area found the target, instead it nearly cleared the stand behind Neil Sullivan, a bystander in the second half.
Liam Miller was hacked down inside the penalty area by Kouo-Doumbe with five minutes remaining and Rob Hulse, who had only just replaced Robbie Blake, was given the task of putting away the spot-kick.
He stepped up and hit an unstoppable drive past Larrieu to score his first goal since October. It was all too comfortable for Leeds in the end and they wrapped up a fantastic festive period with 12 points out of 12, also the first time they had won four consecutive games for nearly five years.